(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to boat trailers pulled by a vehicle and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a trailer used for transporting an inflated raft along with various types of camping and boating equipment.
(b) Discussion of Prior Art
During the past few decades in the United States and other countries rafting of rivers and streams has become a very popular outdoor sport. For example, the rafting of certain rivers in the United States require the necessary equipment for a day trip, an overnight trip, a trip of 3 and 4 days or for extended periods of up to 1 or 2 weeks. Obviously, these type of trips require a good size inflated raft for holding a number of people along with the necessary camping equipment. Heretofore, there has been no type of trailer adapted for holding the necessary camping equipment along with carrying one or more large inflatable rafts that can be quickly rolled off of the trailer and into the water at the start of the trip and then rolled onto the trailer at the completion of the river trip.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,039,629 to Cole, 3,717,268 to Snodgrass, 4,103,926 to Johnston et al., Des. 196,499 to Cox and Des. 223,818 to Shimoji different types and designs of boat trailers are disclosed. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,489,055 to Steinacher, 2,720,413 to Halverson and 3,266,836 to Taylor et al. multi-purpose trailers and a self-unloading wagon are described. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,118 to Kellogg, a truck tailgate is disclosed having rollers mounted on top of the tail gate which are used for ease in loading and unloading material into a bed of the truck.
None of the above mentioned prior art patents disclose or teach the unique structural features, function, objects and advantages of the subject inflated raft trailer as described herein.
In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the invention to provide an inflated raft trailer which is adapted for easily transporting one or more inflated rafts to and from a river, a lake and other water recreation areas. Also, the trailer is adapted for holding various sizes and shapes of rafts thereon.
Another object of the invention is the trailer is adapted for holding various camping and boating equipment when transporting the inflated raft.
Yet another object of the trailer is that it is designed to allow the raft to be quickly discharged from the top of the trailer into the water and to allow the raft to be quickly returned to the top of the trailer at the completion of a trip. The trailer includes a tail gate frame with roller for providing ease and minimum effort in the loading and unloading of the raft on top of the trailer.
Still another object of the invention is when the trailer is not used for transporting the inflated raft and camping equipment, it can be quickly converted to a box trailer for transporting various items.
A further object of the inflated raft trailer is the trailer is rugged in construction, straight forward in mechanical design and can also be used for hauling various types of equipment and floating devices when not transporting an inflated raft and camping equipment.
The inflated raft trailer includes a trailer bed mounted on an axle with wheels. The trailer bed includes a front portion, a rear portion, a first side portion, a second side portion and a center portion. A vertical front frame is mounted along a length of the front portion. A movable tail gate frame, with an elongated roller mounted thereon, is hinged along a length of the rear portion of the trailer bed. The tail gate frame can be raised from a lowered ground position to a raised vertical position. A vertical first side frame is mounted along a length of the first side portion of the trailer bed and a vertical second side frame is mounted along a length of the second side portion of the trailer bed. A first wing frame is hinged along a top of the length of the first side frame. A second wing frame is hinged along a top of the length of the second side frame. The first and second wing frames can be folded into a horizontal position and supported by a removable center post above the trailer bed for receiving the inflated raft on top thereof. When the inflated raft is removed from the top of the trailer, the wing frames can be unfolded upwardly into a vertical position and latched to a portion of the first and second side frames for converting the raft trailer into a box trailer.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those familiar with vehicle trailers and boat trailers used for transporting various types of boats, inflatable rafts and other recreational equipment as described in the following detailed description, showing novel construction, combination, and elements as herein described, and more particularly defined by the claims, it being understood that changes in the embodiments to the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included as coming within the scope of the claims, except insofar as they may be precluded by the prior art.